Customer Reviews

World's Young Ballet / Moscow International Competition, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ludmila Semenyaka, Anna Pavlova

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This is a fascinating documentary of what the New York Times called an "exquisite blend of anxiety and esthetics", the first Moscow International Ballet Competition. We are privileged to see astoundingly talented young dancers, such as Hideo Fukagawa, the so-dubbed "Flying Japanese". He is a young man who seemed to be made from some kind of antigravity material, so light, elastic and graceful were his airborne leaps. Baryshnikov is phenomenal. You can see him dance Vestris, which he later performed at Wolftrap. Sadly, the Wolftrap audience did not understand what he was doing, and laughed at him. Here there was no question of the seriousness of his dancing and his gifted acting abilities.

The men seemed to be particularly brilliant in this competition, some of whom possessed extraordinary power, elegance and style, not to mention great physical beauty. There was an embarrassment of riches at this competition, a condition of abundance that would fade in the future as fewer and fewer dancers made the expensive pilgrimage to Moscow.

It must have been a challenge for the judges to decide who were supreme among these (mostly) great dancers. A who's who of the dance greats of this era, we see among the judges Plisetskaya, Ulanova, and Alonso.

Included is a stunning clip of Anna Pavlova dancing with a fan in an outdoor setting. It is brief, but gives us a glimpse of the magnitude of her art.

This is a DVD that I have watched several times, and will continue to view. The dancing of some of the contestants is gorgeous, and I don't know of any other opportunities to see them.

I was thrilled to discover this DVD, which provides very rare footages of Ludmila Semenyaka and Anna Pavlova. Ludmila's youthful exuberance is absolutely infectious. I especially love how she had her personal "nook" by the stage where she observed the competitors. Her demeanors reminded me of a kitten, graceful but a little goofy at the same time. I'm not even going to try describing Anna Pavlova's art, you just have to buy this DVD and see for yourself. :o)

I loved this DVD, it is an historic film, whith features we would hardly ever watch separadetly. The narrator says curious things about ballet, the performers, and the tecniques and variations of the dances. i truly recomended as a record of the youth of our favorite dancers. Don't miss it!

A must for anyone with a thorough interest in ballet - its stars and its development.

in this historic documentary is a young Ludmila Semenyaka performing a scene from Act III of Giselle, as well as a modern jazz dance piece entitled We. (GISELLE HAVE ONLY 2 Acts)

Also on the jury were Soviet composer Aram Khachaturian (KHACHATURIAN IS ARMENEAN)